William Hersey was my ninth great-grandfather. Born 1596 in Reading, Berkshire, England, he died March 22, 1658 in Hingham, Massachusetts. The son of Nathaniel and Anne Hersey, he married first Margaret Garves on January 1, 1615 and second Elizabeth Croade in England in 1631 and then arrived in Hingham in 1635. Some documents claim William and Elizabeth married in New England, but since they were both from England and he arrived in 1635, that is unlikely. It appears Elizabeth arrived after giving birth to daughter Elizabeth in 1636 back in England.
Margaret gave him three children in Reading, England, only one of whom survived to have issue: Gregory, b. Nov 19, 1616, had one son Robert who died in England, no issue.
Nathaniel b. Jan 13, 1617 d. Jan 16, 1617
Cecilie b. Jan 17, 1619 d. Dec. 7, 1619
Some notes say Margaret died 1623 but I have not found any death documentation beyond notes in various genealogy lists.
Elizabeth gave him at least six children – William (1632-1691), Elizabeth (1636-1719), John (1640-1726), James (1643-1684) and two daughters, Frances and Judith, for whom we do not have dates.
Daughter Elizabeth (my 8th great grandmother) married Moses Gilman, Judith married Humphrey Wilson and Frances married Richard Croade.
The Pioneers of Massachusetts 1620-1650
This is the will of William Hersey:
A memorial in Hingham Cemetery for William and his wife Elizabeth:
“We Herseys are descendants of William Hersey who came to America, from England in 1635. Francis C. Hersey has researched the progenitor of the Herseys in America:The earliest record of the Hersey family- which can be obtained is the name of a certain Sir Malvicius de Herey in the year 1210. The family appears to have come originally from Flanders, and I find that a Hughe de Hersey was Governor of Trou-Normandy in 1204. Edward I held another Hugh when a minor, i. e., took all his rents until he came of age. There is a Count Hercé-Maine, France, running from the year 1550. Sir Malvicius married Theophania, daughter and co-heir of Gilbert de Arches, Baron of Grove, and from him descended the family of Herey of Grove, one of the first families in the County of Nottingham.Branches of this family appear to have settled in several of the southern counties of England; one in Oxfordshire, another in Berks, and so forth, and they appear always to have been among the leading county families. The name is found in Sussex, England, in 1376 to 1482, owning property seven miles round. In Warwickshire there is a village which still bears the name Pillerton Hersey or Herey, The Herseys of Grove only show, it direct descent in the male line down to 1570, but the branches in Oxfordshire and Berkshire go to 1794, at which date a son-in-law took the name Hersey, and these branches in England come down to the present time through him.
There are numerous Hearseys, Hersees, Hearses and Herseys to be found, and a number of entries. are in the registers of London churches, including Thomas Hersey, his wife, Eliza, and family of five children, Richard, Elizabeth, Thomas, John, and Joan, all of. whom died of the plague at Wandsworth, London in 1603. The name of Robert Hearse occurs as minister of Trinity Church, London, in 1578. There are branches of the family to be found in India, where they own land fifty miles by fifteen in the province of Oude. The arms of English Hereys are “Gules, a chief argent”; crest, “a Moor’s head wreathed on a coronet.”
In the year 1635 Richard Herey, aged twenty-two, sailed from London for Virginia in the ship [unclear] and in the same year William sailed for New England. This last named settled in Hingham, Mass., and the records of that town clearly prove his identity. Savage’s “Three Generations of Settlers” says that the William Herey who left England in 1635 had a daughter Judith born in England who was married in 1663 to Humphrey Wilson. The records of the town of Hingham show that Judith, daughter of the William who settled there in 1635, was baptized in Hingham, July 15, 1638, and was married to Humphrey Wilson in 1663, as stated by Savage. This William was undoubtedly the son of Nathaniel Herey, who died in Reading, Berkshire Country, in 1629; his children were William, born 1596, and Thomas, born 1599. I find no male issue of Thomas after 1672. The children of William, probably born in England, Gregory, Prudence, Nathaniel, William, Frances, Elizabeth, and Judith, the four latter accompanying their father to America. Gregory had one son Robert, who died in England leaving no issue, and Nathaniel left one son and one grandson; the latter probably died in England about 1794, without male issue. There is no record of burial in England of Nathaniel’s son William, showing that he must be the emigrant of 1635 who settled in Hingham, same year. Thus the present American branch of the Hersey family, who descended from William, are able to establish their connection through Nathaniel with the English Berkshire family, and to trace their ancestry back to Sir Malvicius de Herey, who lived in the reign of King John.
The Richard Herey who sailed for Virginia could not have belonged to the Berkshire branch of the Herey family; no trace can be found of him in America, and it is probable that be died without issue.
About 1786 William Graham, of Netherby, Cumberland, England, married a Miss Hersey (American branch) and had a son William. This is a baronet’s family, and one of them was Viscount Preston in 1688.
From my genealogical researches I have arranged a Hersey Tree, starting with William, who settled in Hingham in 1635.”
(From: Their Story by May Hersey )
William is my 9th great grandfather, as well. We share this line to Daniel, though often through more than one child in a generation. They intermarried many times all the way to my 4th greats.
Thank you for posting this information. I’m looking forward to exploring more of it.
Nice to meet you! There are a lot of intermarriages in the Wilder line as well. Made researching both easy…and complicated!
T.K. I am having difficulty trying to find the birth record of a Lewis Hersey born in Massachusetts December of 1926. Unfortunately that is all that I know of his life before his journey to the Oregon Territory and I cannot seem to find any record of his birth or his parents. Would you happen to have stumbled upon a Hersey in your tree that matches that description?
Sorry, Kristeen – I don’t have a Lewis Hersey in that time frame. I have an Edward Lewis Hersey b. 1822 – but that’s it.
William Hersey is my 9th great grandfather as well. We share ancestors through Daniel. Daniel’s son Isaiah is my 6th great grandfather.
I have an old large frame family tree of the Hersey family, Hingham, MA. It’s really a beautiful piece. My great aunt was Hersey and passed away many years ago. I can’t find anyone interested in it. I think it should be back in the family’s hands. Any ideas?
Maybe post it here and see if anyone is interested? https://www.facebook.com/groups/HistoryGenNEFamilies
I have just discovered this wonderful page. Thank you. It fills in some blanks. I know it has been a while since your post about the tree, but thought it worth reaching out. I have been researching my kids’ branch of the Hersey tree and am dying to get to Hingham. What prompted all of this was that I was trying to locate another copy of the family tree you mentioned. It had a trubute to the creator, Francis Hersey of So Boston, If you have any information on a possible source, I would greatly appreciate it. My copy of course is reserved for our son, Daniel Steven (10th great grandson of William) but our daughter, Elizabeth Anne, just commissioned as a JAG Attorney/Officer with the Navy and requested one for herself (even though she is female). If you have any knowledge or potential connections to get one for my daughter, I would greatly appreciate it.
My kids are 10th great grandchildren and part of the William, William, William, Joseph line down to Lewis Greenleaf and then Samuel Freeman Hersey (Iowa buried). After that is Samuel’s son, Dr. Nelson Lewis (Iowa, d. approx 1974), his son Dr James Merrill (1931-2019), my late husband Steven James (Colorado) (1960-2017) and my son Daniel Steven (Colorado, b. 1995). Daniel is the last Hersey Male on that branch. Many places where I have seen that branch, including wiki trees end either with Samuel Freeman, rarely Nelson Lewis, when in fact it continues with the male Hersey name saved so far. Thank you so much!
Becky
P.S. I have found many mentions of the arrival of the ship containing 105 families, arriving in Sept 1635, but I cannot find the name of the ship. I have become somewhat obsessed with trying to find the name of the ship they came over on and any other related information. Any help would in that area be genuinely appreciated.
Dear Rebecca,
I too have been researching the Hersey line for the past 15
years.
I have heard that William Hersey sailed with a
fleet of ships called the White Sails. It is said that he was
part of the crew helping to navigate the journey.
As he was crew, his name did not appear on any ship lists.
Previously when William lived in England he previously helped navigate a shop to search for a suitable place to create a colony.
I too spent years looking for the name of the ship. I agree with you that one can be obsessed looking for the ship name.
I hope someday you will be able to see Hingham. It is Avery beautiful historic town. Whole there I met a delightful man named Galen Hersey who turned out to be my cousin. He showed me all around.
I have also been to Hingham, England, another delightful town with a beautiful old church called St. Andrews.
If you would like some help with your rearch, I am happy to help. My e mail address is suereed528 @gmail.com
All the best,
Sue
Cathleen, I also have a large frame family tree starting with William who came to what is now Hingham, MA in 1635. This family tree was compiled by Francis C. Hersey in South Boston, MA in 1895 and includes the family crest. Is yours the same?
Sandra, that is the one I have and I’m searching for a copy for my daughter. I have been unable to track any down. Mine is matted and framed and the original has faded so much it’s almost unreadable. That belong to my late husband’s grandfather.
I have a copy I could send to your email
Oh my gosh. That would be fantastic! Thank you so much! Before having our good copy mounted and framed, we carefully hand wrote in my son on our branch of the tree. For reference, it’s the branch on the lower right side that sticks out farther than others. Steven J (my late husband) was the last printed entry. My son, Daniel S, is after Steven.
Does page show my email address or should I send it to you?
Thanks again,
Becky Hersey
I would need your email
William is my 9th great grandfather as well. I have a copy of the Hersey family tree compiled by Francis C Hersey in 1895. My linage is as follows: William, William, William, William, William, Stephen, Jacob, David, Ira, then my grandfather Robert W and my father Timothy W.. We are about 2:00 on the family tree.
I’m planning a trip this October to Orleans, MA where my father was raised on Cape Cod. He recently passed away and we wanted to see where he grew up. While I was there I was going to go to Hingham, MA and try to find Williams gravestone-I understand it’s not the original but a replica and I would like to find where he lived. The map at the end of your post is helpful. If you have any other information that would make my trip more meaningful I would appreciate it.
Thank you,
Amanda Gail Hersey Shafer